THE ZOOLOGY OF THE VOYAGE OF H-M-S BEAGLE, REPTILES, DARWIN

The scales of the head flat,rather large, consistingbehind margin having two or three small projecting scales.. The scales on the templesare imbricatedand smooth ; those of the sides of

ZOOLOGY

OF

DURING THE YEARS

PUBLISHED WITH THE APPROVAL OF

THE LORDS COMMISSIONERS OF HER MAJESTY'S TREASURY.

NATURALIST TO THE EXPEDITION

PART V.

REPTILES,

BY

PROFESSOR OF ZOOLOGY IN KING's COLLEGE

LONDON:

MDCCCXLIII.

London

EEPTILIA.

THOMAS BELL, ESQ., F.R.S., F.L.S., ETC.

. 4335. 3649

. 4544. 2439. 3342. 27

Pleurodemabufoninum

Darwinii

elegansProctotretus Bibronii

CliilensiscyanogasterDarwiniiFitzingerii gracilisKingiimultimaculatusnigromaculatus

62

12

. 1411413

. 1710

. IS587

. 15

40. 31

32. 4850

' Vautoiii,

XX.-? Phryniscusnigricans.

IUperodon ornatum

Errata,—In Plate XIX.for "Hylonia" read "Hylorina

/or "vanterii" read "Vauterii."

Amongst the Reptiles and Amphibians obtained by Mr Darwin, in the Voyage

of the Beagle, there are several of great interest, not merely on account of their novelty as newly discovered species, of which there are nearly thirty, or as

pecu-liarity of form, structure, or habit, although in all these respects many of them

are highly interesting; but more particularly as serving to establish or confirm several points connected with their geographical distribution.

From the structure of most of these animals and their consequent habits of

life, circumscribed as they are for the most part in their locomotive powers, it

might reasonably be predicated that they would, upon the whole, exhibit as distinct examples of restriction, with regard to their geographical boundaries,

as any class of vertebrated animals ; and that the intervention of seas and of

usually the case; and not only is the same species not found in the Old and New

Continents, but, with very few exceptions, not even on the opposite sides of the

principally been made The occurrence, however, of Biifo Cliilensis at Rio

Janeiro and at Buenos Ayres on the eastern, and at Valparaiso and the

Archipe-lago of Chonos on the western side of the continent, shows an extent of tribution exceedingly unusual ifnot absolutely unparalleled in this family. It is,

dis-however, still possible that further and more extended researches into the characters of the animals in question, and an examination of individuals from each locality at various ages, may prove that there are two species, which have

the reasons above mentioned, and others of a restrictive nature, it is not so easy

to refer to any known or obvious cause the remarkable fact of a whole genus, consisting of numerous species, being thus geographically limited Yet this is a

Vi PREFACE.

animals In our present researches there exists a remarkable example of thisfact in the genus Proctotretus, consisting, as is now known, ofat least fourteen species, all inhabiting the western coast of South America These facts,interesting as they are, have never been sufficiently investigated, although, it

must be confessed, there are so many anomalies in relation to this subject, that

we must despair of ever reducing the facts in question to any thing like fixed laws.

The close approximation of the Raniform and Hyliform groups of the

Anourous Amphibia is strikingly illustrated by several new forms obtained by

some amongst the Bufonida;, which are no less raniform in their general structure

and habits, render it increasingly probable that the single character of the

in-sufficient to constitute alone a natural distinctive family character There are several minor points bearing upon the natural arrangement of the Anourous Amphibians, which are illustrated by the characters of some of the species

now first described, which will doubtless at some future time assist in the construction of a classification of these animals, bearing at least a nearer

promulgated.

at the present time engaged in completing his admirable history of Reptiles,

by the publication of those volumes which are devoted to this order; and

it must be considered a fortunate circumstance that the delay which has

opportunity of embodying in so perfect a work, the numerous discoveries of

Mr Darwin in this particular department of Erpetology.

T B.

Hornsey, Sept 2, 1843

CharacterGenericus.—Porifemorales nuUi Poriprce-analesinmaribus tantum Crista dorsalisnulla.

a section or sub-genus of the genus Tropidurus, accordingto Weigmann, who,

how-ever, was acquainted with two species only ; Pr. Chile?isis?Lnd Pr nigromaculattis.

Of the varieties of the former of these, that author has made no less than three species ; but these have been very properly reduced by M Bibron to one only.

which had been brought from Chile, by M D'Orbigny, and others ; and I received,

some years since, from Capt King, three or four species which were found

by him in the same locality, in the course of his well-known survey The number

of species altogether, hitherto known, amounts to ten ; to which I have now the opportunity of adding four entirely new, forming part of the interesting collection

of Reptilia made by Mr Darwin One of them, Pr Kingii, was already in my

collection, amongst those which were given me by Capt King The genus, therefore, of which, but lately, two species only were known, now consists of fourteen ; and it is highly probable that more may yet be obtained by more pro- longed and extensive investigation in the same districts

B

2 ZOOLOGY OF THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE.

Thus of the species now described two were known to Weigmann, and scribed by him, namely, Chileusis, and nigromaculatus. I received from Capt.

Chilensis, pictus, Weigmaimii Bibron describes the whole of these, excepting

Kingii, and in addition to them tenuis, pecti?iatus, signij'er In Mr Darwin's

collection are found all those described by Bibron, excepting signifer; and inaddition Kingii now first described, and the following species never before observed, namely, Darwinii,gracilis, Bibronii.

Although the form of the whole of the species much more nearly approximates

that of the Agamidae than most others, they are far removed from that family by

several important characters, which it is unnecessary here to detail

Proctotretus Chilensis.

Plate I.

—

rhom-heis; aciUh carinutis; serie unicd squamarum supralahialium.

Calotes Chilensis,Less, et Gam. Voy delaCoquille,ZooLRep.t i f 2.

Proctotretus Chilensis,Bibr Hist.Nat desRep.IV p. 269

Sun Tropidurusintidm, Weigm. 1 c p. 234, t xvii f 2.

Var Tr.oUmceus, lb 1 c p. 268

Habitat, Guasco in Northern Chile.

Description.— Head short and broad, rostrum rounded, obtuse Scales of the head large, and

slightly raised, separated by distinct grooves Superciliary ridge strongly marked, forming a

distinct carina, composedoffive orsixnarrow,elongated, obliquely imbricatedscales Nostrils

large, nearlyround A single scries of narrow scales between thoseof the upper lip and the

orbit Scalesof the temples imbricated, rhomboidal andcarinated The openingof the ear

oval,rather large, furnished anteriorlywith three or four projectingscales, of which the upper one is the largest The neck is short, robust and round, and without any lateral fold ; in

which itdiffers from every other species of the genus The trunk is thick, rounded on the

back andsides, flattenedbeneath, diminishing toward eitherextremity The tail is ordinarily

almost twice as longas the body, thick at its origin, and tapering regularly to the extremity,

when placed against the sides, extend backwards little more than mid-way between the

shoulderand the groin; the posterior ones, stretched forward, reach the arm-pit

The scalesof the whole upper and lateral parts of the body, tail, and limbs, are loosely

point: those ofthe underparts are large, smooth, andobtuse

REPTILES- 3

This is one of the most beautifulspecies of the genus The general form is robust and

solid, forming a remarkable contrast with most other species of the genus The surface is

opinion that they form three distinct species Monsieur Bibron mentions two principal

varieties, constitutingthe Tropidunis olivaceus and Tr C/i27«i5zsofWeigmann. In the former,

yellowcolour prevails on the scales,each ofwhich is green,with a border of yellowoneachside:

back

In the second variety, says M. Bibron, the upper parts are either of an olive colour, with

agolden glance in certain lights, or fulvous, with more orless ofayellow tint; andthese havealways fourbrown bands running the length of thebody, appearing as if formed of aseries of

which passto the neck there to join the dorsal bands." There are othervariations ofcolour,

largest and finestspecimen I have seen, which Ireceived from Chile, is almostuniformly of a

This species would appear to be very common in Chile, from the numerous

4 ZOOLOGY OF THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE.

Proctotretus gracilis N.S.

Plate I.—Fig 2.

Corpore gracili: capitis squamis Icevihus, non imbricatis : aurium margine anteriore nmiuth hi-tridentato: collo vixplicato, squamis imbricatis: sei'ie unicd squamarun

supralabialium: femorum facie posteriore omninb granulosa.

Habitat, Port Desire, Patagonia Mr Darwin, MS.

Description.—This new speciesis more slender and graceful in its general form than any other of

the genus, not excepting Pr tenuis, which in its general proportions itconsiderably resembles

triangle The muzzleis rounded The scales of the head flat,rather large, consistingbehind

margin having two or three small projecting scales The scales on the templesare imbricatedand smooth ; those of the sides of the neck also imbricated but very small The neck is

almost wholly without a fold, having merely a slightloose elevation of the skin Thescales ofthe back are small, rhomboidal, flat, the carina low, and not pointed atthe extremity They

wholly without anynotch on the free margin Thescalesaround the axillae, and those of the

pressed against the side, reaching to the setting on of the thigh, and the posterior reachingforwards nearly to the ear The general colour of the upper parts is greyish brown, with ayellow longitudinal fascia extending on each side from the upper edge of the orbit to some

wavedlines anddotsbeneath the lower jaw

"T®*'*^"'''"-"**'

/ 2. froGi^odyeSii^/>icliir9 .-<%* sc!te<

REPTILES. ' 5

Proctotretus pictus.

Plate II.—Fig 1, 2.

Capite squamis parvis, Icevibus, non Imbricatis ; aurium margine anleriore granulosa;

colload lateragraiiuloso; squamis dorsalibus parvis, rhombeis, carina humili, postice obtusd; facie posteriore femorum omnind granulosa.

Proctotretug pictus,'B\hr 1 c p. 276

Habitat, Chile.

Description.—This speciesis moderately slender in its general form, but morefusiform than Pr

with the snoutrounded, is covered withnumerous small flat plateswhich vary exceedingly in

imbricated andcarinated The sides of the neck are granulated; and the anteriormarginof

the auditorycavity has small simple granulations The scales of the back are distinguished

the underpart of the fore arm are similar, but beneath the thighs theyare smooth and on the

ofwhich I have several specimens, which were brought home and presented to me by Capt.King, whoobtained them during his survey of the coast of South America These varieties,

however, occasionally run into each other

Var A General colour oftheupperpartbronzedor coppery, havinga green longitudinal

The sides of the neck and body are ofa similar colourto the back, with indistinct black spots

beneath thispart the ground colourbecomes bluewith black dots Thethroat isblackish, and

the inferior surface generally is verypale bluish green

black spots Some ofthese spots on the upperpart of the flanks, becomedilated, so as toform

a sort of vertical or transverse waved bands, withyellowish margins On the neck there are

6 ZOOLOGY OP THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE.

whole under surface is ofa whitish colour, sometimes having aslight tintoforange towardsthe

tenuis; from which, however, it differs totally in the colouring, and in some

mea-sure also in the general form, which is more thick and robust.

Found in Chile by M Gay, from whence I also received specimens from Capt King, and other sources — " Valparaiso." Mr Darwin.

Proctotretus Bibronii N.S.

Plate IIL—Fig ].

Capite squainis Iczvihus, suhconvexis; auribus ovalibus, margine anteriore unidentalo squamis temporum collique rotundalis Icevibus imbricatis; colli minimis ; serie unicd squamarutn supralabialium ; squamis dorsi rhomboideis, carinatis, postich acumina-

tis; abdominis squamis omnibus integris

; femorum facie posteriori omnino

granulosa.

Habitat, Port Desire Mr Darwin.

Description.—General form resembling that of Pr pictus and cyanogaster Head moderately

short, obtuse,covered withrather large slightly convexscales; a single row of scales between

the labial and the orbitar The anterior margin ofthe earhasasingle tooth The templesand the sides of the neck arecovered with imbricated scales, which have no carina—those of

theneck, especially those on the fold of the skin are smallerand more raisedthan the others

The scales of the back are rather large, rhomboidal, with a distinctcarina, terminating in a

Theonlyspecimen obtained being afemale, the numberof pre-anal poresisnotknown.

Thegeneralcolourof thisspecies is brownish grey; a black longitudinal line runs downthe middle of the back and tail. There are two series of black spots on each side, and a

REPTILES 7

but bythe absence of even the slightest appearance of a carina on any of the scales of the

temples orof the sides of theneck

Plate III.—Fig 2.

Capite squamis IcEvibus, non imhricatis; auribus mag7iis, margine anteriore tuberculato; serie imicd squamarum supralabialium; temporibus squamis rotun-datis, imbricatis; coUo granuloso; squamis dorsi parvis, obtusis, carinis minimis;squamis hUeralibus e.viguis, non imbricatis; facie posleriore femorum omnino

sub-granulosa.

Proctotretustenuis, Bibr.I c p. 279

Description.—General form slender: head rather short and obtuse, covered with flattenedsmooth

scales; anterior margin of the ears with one or more slight tubercles; temples covered withrounded imbricated scales, some of which are slightly carinated; sides of the neck, andabove the shoulders granular; scales of the back small, slightly carinated, obtuse

the sides very small, very little imbricated; those of the belly small and smooth The

NiI'un ni I'autre ne portent,de chaque cote du dos, une bande longitudinale verte oujaunatre

"Le male a le dessus de la tete nuance de brun et defauve, ou bien ponctue de jaune

etde noiratre La region cervicale est, ainsique le dos, vermiculee denoir surun fondbrun

8 ZOOLOGY OF THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE.

qui estlui-meme seme detaches,soitbleuatres, soit verdatres, on ardoisees; quelquefoismeme

on en remarque de jaunatres Presque tons les individus ont les cotes du cou marques chaqun d'une raie noire qui s'etend depuis le haut de I'oreille jusqu'a I'epaule Les membres

etlaqueue sont coupesen travers par desbandes onduleuses noiratres, dont les inlervalles se

trouventremplis parde taches, lesunes bleuatres, les autres de la couleur du cuivre rouge,

lagorge tantot estjaune, tantot d'unbeau vert metallique Souventelle est,de meme que les

"Lafemelle ,itoutes ses partiessuperieures peintesd'un gris-brun fauve Son cou et sondos portent deuxseries parallele de demi-cercles noirs, ayantleurbord convexe tourne de cote

du fond de la couleur du dos La region moyenne de celuici est quelquefois ponctuee

de noir, ou tachetee de blanchatre Des lignes noires onduleuses traversent le dessus de la

queue dont le dessous est souvent cuivreux Les regions inferieures sont blanchatreson bien

Mr. Darwin's only observation on the colour ofthisspecies is, thatit is " brownishblack

Plate IV.—Fig 1.

Capite brevi, obtuso, depresso, squamis l<svibus plants; aurium margine anteriorebi-tuberculato;squamis temporum imbricatis;colligranulatis; serieunicd squamarum

supralabialium; squamis dorsi laxis imbricatis, vix cai'inatis; facie posteriore

femorum omnino granulosa Dorso Jlavescenti-griseo, signis nigris, in serielmsquatuor longitudinalibusdispositis

Proctotretussignifer, Bibr 1 c p. 288

Head short, depressed, somewhatabruptly deflexed from the vertex—the scales flat, those

EEPTILES 9

the labial scales, andthelonginfra-orbitalplateis a single seriesofrounded scales.* Thescales

of the temples are rather large, somewhat rounded, slightly imbricated, and a few of the

marginhaving two slightlyprominentscales towards the lowerpart

The body is depressed; the tail moderatelylong, thick andslightly four-sided atthe base,

becomina; much smallerand roundtowards the middle The scales of the sides of theneck

posteriorly, loose, much imbricated, andwith an extremely low and inconspicuous carina.Theyare arrangedin about twenty-twolongitudinalseries. Those of the sidesare largerand

smooth and much imbricated; a very fewtowards the sides oftheabdomenare slightlynotched

being rhomboidal, smooth, but slightly carinated andobtuse The tail is covered with smallrhomboidal scales which are considerably imbricated and distinctly carinated The scales of

the upper surface of the toes aresmooth; thoseon their sides uni-carinated, andthose beneath

The generalcolourof theupperpartsisayellowish grey,with black markings,which havesomewhatthe character, as Mons Bibron observes, of Arabic letters On the neck and back

the upperpart of the shoulders andthighs The tail is similarly marked, the underparts are

This species is not found amongst thereptilesobtained by Mr Darwin, but as

loan of the only specimen which I have seen, and from which the accompanying

figure is taken. It formed part of the zoological collections obtained by Mons D'Orbigny forthe French Museum.

* Mons.Bibronstatesthat there aretwoseries, buton examininghisspecimen I findasingle seriesonly

C

IQ ZOOLOGY OF THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE.

Proctotretus nigromaculatus.

Plate IV.—Fig 2.

Capite brevi, squamis neque imhricatis nee carinatis, teclo ; aiirihus margine anterioretridentato; serie unicd squamarum stipralabialium; squamis temporum mugnis, rotundatis, imhricatis; colli {et prcecipuh plicce) crassis, elevatis; facie posteriore

femorum omnind granulosa; squamis nonmdlis adlatera abdominis gulceque natis; macula transversa oblongd, nigra, supra regionem scapularem.

emargi-Tropidurws(Leiolwrnus) nitjromaculatus,Weigm. Act Acad Caes Nat cur xvii p. 229

Proctotretusnigromaculatus, Bibr 1 c p. 281

Habitat, Coqviimbo, Chile.

Description.— Headshort, the muzzlerounded, rather obtuse; scales of the upperpartofthehead somewhat convex, smooth; a single line of scalesbetween the labialand orbitar; ears rather

large, the anterior margin having three rather prominent scales, the middle one being the

largest Temporal scales somewhat large,smooth, rounded, and imbricated, those towards the

upperpart slightlycarinated; those of the sides of the neckthick andelevated, those on thefoldbeingrather acutely prominent; scalesof theback carinated, the carinaterminating in anacute point; a fewof the scales at the sides ofthe abdomen and throat notched; the remainder

of the scales of the underparts rhomboidal Thescales about the axillaand around the base

of the shoulder are granularand very small, as are those of the posterior surface ofthe thighs,

on which part there areno imbricatedscales as in Tr.Fitzingerii The tail is round, excepting

at the basewhere it is slightly flattened; it is moderately long and slender The anterior

extremity placed against the side does not reach to the thigh; the posterior similarly placedreaches tothe shoulder The colour of thisspecies is yellowish greyabove, witha yellowish

behind There is alargeand distinct oblong black mark on the region of the scapula, from which circumstance the species takes its name On the posterior surface of the thighs, towards

theupper part, are three or four black dotsplaced in a line. The under surface is yellowish

white with dark greydotsandlines under the chinand throat

Tliis species was first described by Weigmann, and subsequently by M.

Bibron, from specimens obtained by Gaudichaud from Coquimbo, at which place the single specimen brought home by Mr Darwin was also obtained.

^eU Svi^.

caudain versus, squamis majoribus, rhomboideis imbricatis tectd.

Proctotretus Fitzingerii, Bibr 1 c p. 2SC

Habitat, Patagonia.

Description.— General form thick and robust, the head short being nearlyasbroad as it is long.The muzzleslightly rounded Scalesof the head flat, small and numerous Two scalesonlybehind the rostral and between those which are pierced by the nostrils Those overthe noseand around the occipital scales being larger and more regularly arranged than the others

Theear is large, oval, the anterior margin having, towards the upperpart, about three small,oval, granular, veryslightlyprojectingscales Temples covered withsmall, roundedorslightly

hexagonal scales, which are scarcely imbricated A single range of rather broad oval scales

between the orbitand the upper Up Scales of the sides of the neck, andabove and behind

the shoulder small,granular The trunk thick; scales ofthe back verysmall, imbricated,very

slightly carinated, and not pointed behind; those of the underparts smooth and rhomboidal

backwards more than halfway tothe thigh The posterior pair do not quite reachthe arms

the groin rising to nearthe uppersurface of the thigh, whichare imbricated andrhomboidal,

are smooth, those beneath have one or two slight carinas

specimens in the French Museum.

arriere La queue et les membres offrent dcs bandes transversales anguleuse, d'un teint

marron noiratre, alternant avec des bandes semblables mais de couleur blanche Lesregions

brunes D'autresraies d'unbrun marronsont imprimees verticalement, surleslevres

Var B Cette variete se distingue de la precedente, ence que le dessus de ses membres

est ponctue de noiratre, et que les quatre series de taches qui ornent le dosde lapremiere

noir,marbre de blanc

J2 ZOOLOGY OF THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE.

Var C Le dessusdu corpsest uriiformement peint d'un vert olive. Le dessusdu ecu,le

milieu delapoitrineet celuidu ventresent d'un noir profond

of posteriorextremity 2

This species agrees with Pr Darwinii and Weigmannii, and in some degree

with Pr Kingii, in having a portion of the posterior face of the thighs covered

with imbricated scales This is a character, which although existing in all those

which I have named, is found to obtain in very different degrees; in Tr

also, of Mons Bibron, may be Pr Kingii; but I have not had the opportunity of ascertaining thisfrom the actual examination of the specimens.

Found by Mr Darwin at Port Desire, and at Santa Cruz, in Patagonia.

Proctotretus cyanogaster.

Plate V.—Fig 2.

corpore supra olivaceo,fascia uirinque longitudiualifiavescenli; abdomiue cceruleo

Proctotretusci/ano(jaster, Bibr 1 c p. 2"3.

Habitat, Valparaiso, and Valdivia, Chile.

Description.—It hasbeen well observedby M Bibronthat this speciesoffers atfirst sight what the general aspect of the genus Algira; the acute points of the dorsal andlateral scales

some-and the generalform giving very much that appearance

The head is of moderate size, somewhat deflexed; the scales moderate, flatand smooth;

necksmall, notgranular, but rhomboidalandimbricated Thereisbuta singleseriesofoblong

scales between the labial onesand the orbit The marginof the earis entire and simple; the